Kenya’s Ministry of Health has confirmed the country’s third case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease, involving a 65-year-old woman who was already in quarantine after being identified as a close contact of the first two patients.
The ministry announced the case on Friday, saying the woman had been under quarantine since October 6. She developed a fever, sore throat and general weakness before testing positive for Ebola at both the National Virology Reference Laboratory and the Kenya Medical Research Institute laboratory.
According to the ministry, early detection enabled health authorities to begin supportive care promptly, improving the patient’s chances of recovery while reducing the risk of further transmission.
The ministry also reported that the second patient remained in stable condition and was responding well to supportive treatment.
Officials sought to reassure the public, stating that the overall risk of transmission remained low, with no evidence of community transmission at the time of the announcement.
Of the 130 contacts identified by health authorities, 127, or 97.7 percent, had been traced and placed in quarantine. The ministry said this exceeded the global benchmark of 85 percent for contact tracing efforts aimed at interrupting transmission.
Health teams are continuing efforts to locate and quarantine the three remaining contacts.
The ministry cautioned that additional cases could emerge among people already in quarantine before their monitoring periods end. However, officials said health authorities remained prepared to detect and treat any new infections quickly.
The confirmation of the third case highlights the importance of quarantine, contact tracing and early treatment in containing the outbreak.
